weighing, you know, the option of arming the anti-government forces? listen and we'll talk about it. >> we're providing arms to the opposition, convince the people who support bashar al assad, in many cases because they're afraid of their own existence, or will it simply lead to more fighting. that is the question that we are considering. >> so seems that we are weighing that option. and does this mean the end is near for bashar al assad? >> i don't think anybody can say the end is near for bashar al assad. he's got a lot of tanks, a lot of aircraft, a lot of firepower. what we're seeing from the united states is more of a concern that events are moving very swiftly on the ground. the u.s. wants to be able, at the end of all of this to have some influence, some input into what comes next there. not having supplied any arms up to this point, they don't have much influence. they're beginning to wonder, do we need to have more and how do we get it? they're still very concerned who are the rebels, who do they represent, are these al qaeda forces, we don't